Saturday 8 May 2010

New Oak

I popped into the Middlesex Bonsai Society show in Ruislip today. Sadly my camera didn't work all that well in the low light so that's all the photos i got. I hope tree number 18 won - a lovely prostrate hawthorn in flower.





I picked up a little oak starter tree there. It looked like Quercus Robur - except that the leaves were really tiny and the bark was smooth. So i bought it - £2.50 was a small price for my curiosity.





It was really loose in its pot and i couldn't find out how long it had been in the pot. I decided to have a little scratch around in the pot to see if there were any roots in the strangely loose soil - i found very few. I completely removed it from the soil it was in and cleaned it off to get a better look at wounds on the tap root. It didn't appear to be sealed so i popped a bit of wound seal on it and clear off the dangling bits being very careful not to loose any more precious roots.


Luckily i had some spare pots and good soil about. This is similar soil to the soil i used on my bare root hedging trees i potted during the winter - but with some more organic material added. Its heavily laced with Mycorrhiza to help it along.




These roots are no worse that the roots on the field maples that i gathered last year - so i should be able to keep this little one going as well. I will be misted several times a day. I will also get some very weak foliate feed. Its quite large but i will try to make an enclosure to keep it in a more humid environment.

I am very pleased to have added another oak to the collection.

Tuesday 4 May 2010

RHS Wisley

Now that the weather is easing up its a great time for a walk in the country to admire natures work. Its even better with a good lunch and manicured lawns for strolling.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Wisley

This is a Sequoia - a young one i suspect. The nebari is already very interesting to look at.








The pinetum section was very interesting as it contained the 7 of the largest recorded specimens for species of conifer - known as the Champion Trees.

If you are growing a bonsai and have styling angst and need to see what a mature example of a wild tree looks like then this is the place to be.

The scots pines are lovely.


This time of the year there are some fabulous blossoms from the various fruit trees on display. There are imported onramentals and natives to be seen. Wisley as quite a large apple orchard with many varieties.

There is also a small Bonsai garden with a few very nice specimens on display. This winter was a tough one and some of the maples seem to have lost a few twigs.







Wisly has a very large section devoted to azaleas. There are some massive examples. All shapes and sizes are on display in the gardens. They are worth visiting this time of the year purely to see this section.






The nursery section on the way out of the gardens is rather good. Some very interesting and rare Pinus Negra ( european black pine ) cultivars are available there. There is also an extensive selection of azaleas available there too - interesting named varieties.